Berea, Ky. (2/7/03): Acoustic duet Ga-Li will present a multi-lingual, multi-perspective evening of music Thursday , Feb. 27, beginning at 3 p.m. in Berea College's Phelps Stokes Chapel.

Ga-Li (pronounced gah-lee) weaves contemporary and traditional storytelling, poetry, and music from Latino, Native American, Folk, rural and urban experience. Flute and drum chants and the harmonies of canciones, Blues and ballads are the hallmark of their performance. The program is one that people of all ages can appreciate.

Ga-Li is a Cherokee word that suggests, "I am, you are, we are doing," or more recently to mean "hallelujah!" The musicians of the Dayton, Ohio-based ensemble are Raymond Two Crows Wallen and Elba Alicia Pagan.

Wallen is a singer, songwriter and poet who plays tenor guitar, a variety of Native American flutes, blues harmonica and other instruments. His Cherokee name, Two Crows, was given to him by his Great-Great Grandmother. In the Cherokee tradition this name represents intellect and intuition or the balance of male and female. The search for this balance, Wallen says, has guided his art, his music, and his life. In addition to being a musician and poet, Wallen has been a naturalist and teacher for Boy Scouts of America and the National Audubon Society, a jewelry designer and silversmith, and a paramedic.

Pagan, a singer, storyteller, and educator originally from Puerto Rico, celebrates her Taino, African and Latino heritage through her songs and storytelling. In addition to her work with Ga-Li, Pagan has served as a teacher in the Yellow Springs School District in Yellow Springs, Ohio for twelve years and is Director of Community Service and Service Learning Programs for Secondary and Higher Education Programs at Antioch College.

The program is co-sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS) and the Convocation Program and is free and open to the public.

For additional information, contact CELTS at (859) 985-3935.